Lack of sleep for parents in the first few months is one of the most difficult adjustments of parenthood.
Getting baby to sleep through the night is normally at the top of parents lists.
However we have to be realistic and slowly and gently encourage them to drop their night feeds.
What to expect
For the first 6 weeks we demand feed our babies during the day but not letting them go longer than 3 hrs.
At night we do not wake our babies to feed unless they are less than 2.5kg or if otherwise indicated by your paediatrician.
Only feed baby when he wakes up.
Most babies for the first month will feed at 7pm- 9pm- 12pm- 3am and then 5-6am.
The more feeds a baby gets through the day the less he will need to feed at night.
This can be exhausting for moms so please use all the support you have and try to catch up with naps during the day.
From around a month baby will drop his 9pm feed only waking at 12pm and 3am. So climb into bed early to get a few hours of sleep before midnight.
From 2 months you should be far less exhausted as baby goes to bed at 7pm feeds again at 2am and then around 5 or 6am.
Finally between 3-4 months I am encouraging baby to sleep through from 7pm to 5/6am. And as parents some normality has returned to your life.
All said we must consider that your baby is an individual and for some far more challenging.
The earliest I would teach parents to do sleep training is at 4 months of age.
Remember sleep induces sleep the better baby sleeps during the day the better he sleeps at night.
One of the greatest gifts we can give a new mom is sleep.
So hang in there it will get easier and easier.